kinder!

so we're back from vienna.. and now it's on to the next outreach opportunity!

a team of 6 of us from the Bible College will be heading 2 hours south tomorrow afternoon, to do children's ministry for a retreat with CC Heidelberg and another church from Sinnsheim.

please keep us in prayer as we go- there are 6 of us and about 60 kids, from ages 2-13! pray for creativity, energy, love, and patience. pray that our team will work well together, and that we can really connect with the kids and keep them involved during the 5 long sessions. and while you're asking, please request dry weather so we can head outside for some games too. :)

thanks! we're privileged to serve these churches, and look forward to a great weekend. may these kids truly see the love of Jesus in us!

But Jesus called them to Him and said, 

"Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 

Luke 18:16

<------ p.s.- vienna photos are up!

home we are.

hannah and i made apple pie.

it's supposed to snow on thursday.

i like seeing everyone again.

endurance.

hi all,
thanks for reading, and for praying. our week here has been an incredible blessing. we've talked with so many people, both believers and nonbelievers. for me personally [along with my friend sharon] it's been a week filled with musical opportunities! basically, we've been singing all day long, all week. we've led worship during devotions and prayer times all morning every morning; we've spent a few afternoons playing on the streets, and led worship during a few evening events. today we just had our Erntedankfest [Thanksgiving Feast] - it went so well! There were tons of people here- the whole place was packed. we had all sorts of good food, and sharon and i did some special music. we played some of our own songs.. then a few worship songs.. then played for at least an hour while people had dessert and fellowshiped. everyone really was into the music, even a whole bunch of nonchristians. so we kept playing and playing.. the group of nonbelievers even asked us to play a song again [and could only remember that it talked about salvation! :)]
oh, and the other night we recorded our first album. it's called Austrian a Cappella. we recorded it sitting around the kitchen table in a 6th story apartment in Vienna, and in two hours we had a 14-song album! it's totally raw vocals and harmonies [some songs even learned and sung on the fly], and you can hear the table squeaking, and hear us laugh at our mistakes, but it's worship. the girls were so grateful to have worship music- you really can't get any here. so now they have 14 new songs! tonight during our first "show" they recorded a few more. everyone is asking for copies of "the cd" and another cd.
so it's been really cool and encouraging, and sharon and i are definitely going to record when we get back home to siegen.
but we do ask for prayer- we've sung so many hours this week, and especially this weekend, that our voices our almost gone! please pray for endurance for us. it's really tiring to sing and play that much, even though it's super encouraging, and fun. tomorrow we're leading worship for CC Wien one more time, and then we leave in the afternoon.
thanks so much! blessings! keep praying for vienna- the Lord is doing a great work here!! :)
love.a

punk rock?

So this week we've spent time every day on the streets of Vienna, talking with people about Jesus. We've done surveys, handed out tracts, had all sorts of conversations, and today Sharon and I tried a new tactic. Today we went to the University of Vienna [the oldest university in all of Europe, by the way, and the most beautiful one i've ever seen!], and some of our group went upstairs to the area outside the library, while the two of us stayed outside in this huge courtyard. There were lots of benches all around, and tons of people sitting, eating, talking, walking through, etc. We brought along a guitar and took turns playing and sang with each other [it's quite a blessing, I must say, to play with my little rose-of-Sharon!]. We had thought people might come along and listen, and maybe we could begin conversations with them through that.
Well, nobody really came, and we didn't know if anyone was even listening. So just as we were wondering whether we should move somewhere else or just give up the musical approach altogether, I asked Sharon if she knew a certain song, and began to play it for her. Meanwhile, a girl walks up, and told us to keep playing- she wanted to listen. After we finished, we started talking with her, and she asked us if we actually knew any drummers.. she's in a punk rock band and needs one! She was actually in the process of hanging up flyers. So we told her we actually were only here in Vienna for the week, but were given a flyer anyway, just in case.
As we're talking with her [Mano is her name], another girl walks up and said she heard us playing and singing, and wondered if we'd like to join her brit-rock band???
There's two band offers in one day. They told us we probably shouldn't play and sing out in the open like that, or else more people would ask. :)
Anyway, we ended up having a great conversation with these two girls, Mano and Marie-Kristin, and we invited them to the Thanksgiving fest [Erntedankfest] on Saturday at the church here. Both were very open and I hope they come!!
Later on today at the church we [Sharon and I] were asked to move here and be the worship leaders at the church. That'd be pretty sweet.. guess we'll pray about it huh?
Anyway yeah, 3 musical offers in Vienna in one day.. just interesting. Cool place. Huge musical center of Europe.. and lots of musical opportunities! :)
Good ministry so far. Thanks for praying for us!!
love,a.

servus!

here we are in wien! we've had lots of opportunities already to talk with people on the streets, hand out tracts and surveys, spend time fellowshiping with people from the CC Wien and another international church here, and worship and pray together as a team. our mornings are mainly spent praying for the city and different ministries and believers here, and our afternoons are spent on the streets, talking with people. each evening is different, but we've already gone to two outreaches [one street-evangelism outreach via painting, and another tea room outreach to foreigners], and last night we went to another church to hear a man from N. Korea talk about refugees and some cool ministry going on in that part of the world.
another girl, sharon, and i spoke with 7 people on the streets yesterday, 3 13-year old jewish kids, and 3 18-year-old goths.. please pray for these kids, that the Lord will touch their hearts and speak to them individually- especially to show them that there is a hope and a future in the Lord, that they can personally know the True and Living God!
thanks for praying! we're very grateful for your support.
also keep in prayer the outreach teams all over the world from the different CCBC campuses- hungary, germany, italy, and peru all have their outreach during this week. countless countries all over the world, including south america, all over europe, and even india.
blessings!
annie.

wir gehen nach Wien.

today our outreach team leaves for Vienna!

Please pray for us! We have lots of really cool opportunities to share the love of Jesus with people, in tea rooms and coffeebars, in church and on the streets, in subway stations and refugee camps, with kids ministry, leading worship, putting on a Fall/Thanksgiving feast, and spending lots of time in prayer for the city.

Please pray for protection, provision, wisdom, and many open doors to talk with people and minister to them. And that we'd have abundant love, joy, peace, and patience. :)

Thanks! Blessings!

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You;

For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Psalm 9:10

prayer.

Sometimes we intellectually know something about God. "Sunday school answers" easily come to mind when asked to describe His character: He's good, faithful, loving, patient, etc.

But there comes a certain point in each of our walks where we must step beyond intellectual [head] knowledge, and truly know by experience that these common descriptions of His character are, in fact, true. Basically, we may know every fact about God, and still not truly know Him or His character. I can know everything about somebody, but until I develop some form of relationship or friendship with them, I cannot truly say I know them. So it is with God. I may "know" endless things about Him, but He calls me to Know Him.

Therefore, when I say that God is our Provider, our Healer, and the Hearer of our prayers, my statement is verified when He proves Himself to be so. And this week, He has. He does hear our prayers, and He does answer in His faithfulness.

Example 1: We prayed for a student's father to be healed of cancer for several weeks before his test results came. We trusted that whether or not the Lord healed him, He would answer our prayers in the right way, and provide for the family. The answer? No cancer.

Example 2: We prayed for another student to be able to fly home for Christmas, and to find a reasonably priced ticket. Simple request, maybe "too simple" in the eyes of many; nevertheless, we prayed it. The answer? She has a ticket.

Example 3: We prayed that the Lord would provide money for a member of our Vienna outreach team, after an unexpected bill came up, and left her without sufficient funds. The answer? After church on Sunday a friend came up to me to say hi, and as she left, put money in my hand with the simple explanation that it was for our outreach. How much? Exactly the amount we needed.

So, I can say that the Lord answers prayer until I'm blue in the face; but when I actually stop saying that, and start praying and trusting that He'll answer, it gives Him the room to do so. I know that He answers prayer. We serve the Living God! And He loves to take care of His children! As we know Him, let us also trust Him to be faithful, and praise Him when He is!

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

...Nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. 1 Timothy 1:12

favourites.

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!

Hannah and the beautiful piano at the Halle!

Herbstfarben!